Nature is healing. “Being connected with nature, you have a sense that everything is going to be alright,” says photographer May Chen. Her collection of birds photos from the Bay Area and beyond possess a peaceful and mesmerizing quality. However, the story of native wildlife is more complex, as nature symbolizes constancy and endurance and also the consequences of selfishness.
Reciprocation
This Great Heron couple made their nest right on the Fremont Ohlone campus, and the photo captures the pair adding softer materials in addition to hard branches in preparation for egg laying. “To do wildlife photography, one really needs to study and know the subject,” says Chen. “Know their habitat. Know the breeding season. You almost get to know their personality.”
The Fly Off
May Chen teaches Tai Chi, Qigong, and Mediation at Ohlone —not photography. “The Fly Off” shows some of her philosophy. This image of uncountable Snow Geese taking off over a lake and reflected in the water combines chaotic action with a meditative atmosphere.“Nature in itself is not just one direction,” she says. “Along with something growing above ground, the root is also growing and bringing nutrition.” Like the concept of Yin and Yang, nature involves opposing and interconnected forces in balance.
Tantrum
It’s easy to anthropomorphize these two images of a juvenile Great Egret, an only child, demanding food from his parent even with a full crop. Chen emphasizes the emotional depth of her bird subjects. However this photo has a darker story. In a description of the photos, Chen writes, “There were three small islands at the Lakeshore Park, Newark, CA. The heronries were a local favorite site for photographers throughout the spring breeding and nesting season. Then quietly by 2023, all [400] nests disappeared. Residents responded to the sudden site popularity brought on by mass media. The noise, parking issues, and people rudeness invading an otherwise quiet neighborhood. This loss of habitat was brought on by human behavior.” “Tantrum” highlights the damage humans can do if they admire nature without respecting it. The humans annoyed each other, and birds paid the price.
A Nest is a Home
A Clark’s Grebe couple builds a floating nest, where they tend to their egg. Unfortunately their numbers are also in decline.
The Ground Dwellers
A portrait of Burrowing Owls in Mountain View tells a sad story. Says Chen, “They used to be on this campus, on the Newark campus, near Osgood, but now it’s all built up. As of March this year, there’s 25 pairs in the entire Bay Area. This is a severe demise of the species.” The owls in the photo are all banded, as the species is federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Freedom and the World
Two young Osprey siblings venture out of the nest for the first time—only to land on razor barbed wire. “They learn,” Chen laughs. “They learn, next time I’ll go a little farther.” She expands, “This is freedom in reality. There’s always something where you need to compromise or get used to it.” This is an image of conservation success. Migratory birds, Ospreys, had been declining in numbers due to the pesticide DDT. After the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned DDT (www.sfbayospreys.org), Ospreys rebounded and their numbers have been increasing in the Bay Area over the past 10-15 years.
Birds are often a measure of the health of the overall environment—they feel the effects of pollution before we humans do, and by studying and protecting them, we can protect ourselves. “The whole message is we’re all part of nature. I can see year by year the numbers of these birds decreasing,” says Chen. She adds, “I want people to see how beautiful, how funny, how neat [birds] are. And then do something.”
Handouts at the exhibit cover some of the risks to wildlife, such as letting dogs roam off leash, or letting cats outside. Chen also recommends people look up San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory for more ways to help wildlife: www.sfbbo.org.
Amazing Grace
Open through Sept 25
Open Mon-Thurs, 11am – 4pm; Mon-Wed, 5pm – 8pm
Artist’s Talk
Wednesday, Sept 11
1pm – 2pm
Reception
Saturday, Sept 14
3pm – 5pm
Louie Meager Art Gallery, Ohlone College
43600 Mission Blvd., Fremont
